Tentacool Line/HGSS
Tentacool and Tentacruel has a 100% encounter rate on Route 41 in Johto, when Surfing; they can also be encountered on Route 40 either by Surfing or fishing with the Old Rod or Good Rod. They can be found on Routes 12, 13, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 32, 34 and 47 as well, and also in New Bark Town, Cherrygrove City, Olivine City, Cianwood City, Pallet Town, Vermilion City, Cinnabar Island, Union Cave, and the Whirl Islands. Tentacool is nearly EVERYWHERE. With the exception of the Unova games, there is not a single large area of water that is not packed full of squids. Johto is no exception: wherever there are large amounts of water, a Tentacool is essentially guaranteed to be found. While possibly detested for this reason, Tentacool is actually a good Pokémon to have, especially after the physical/special split; it gained Sludge Bomb in this generation, a welcome addition to its STAB, and is available in HeartGold and SoulSilver after both Surf and Ice Beam have been obtained or are obtainable. Thanks to this, as well as the general lack of Electric and Ground boss battles, as well as the game having very few Psychics all around, Tentacruel is more than capable of taking up the special tank role. Its Speed also permits it to face slower physical hitters with low special bulk, and is just high enough for it to prefer the Choice Specs over the Choice Scarf; with the former, amongst the other things, Tentacruel can one-shot over half of Lance's team. Important Matchups Johto * Gym #2 - Bugsy (Azalea Town, Bug-type): The cocoons are easy, but they basically always are, no matter the opponent. Scyther is another story: despite Tentacool's resistance to Bug, U-turn will still be a major pain, and Technician-boosted Quick Attack even more so; Quick Attack is a borderline 2HKO, and Focus Energy makes it all even worse. If another, better counter is available for Scyther, it should be used, otherwise take Tentacool at least to BubbleBeam level and prepare to heal a lot, crossing fingers that it does not die. * Rival (Azalea Town): BubbleBeam 2HKOs Gastly and 2-3HKOs Zubat and Quilava. Neither Bayleef nor Croconaw should be fought; at this point in the game, they have strong physical moves and outdamage Tentacool's Acid by a large margin, making the matchup unfavourable at best and impossible at worst. * Gym #3 - Whitney (Goldenrod City, Normal-type): The matchup against Clefairy is up to luck; it can be won if it does not copy a strong physical move with Metronome, though only Selfdestruct and Explosion can OHKO Tentacool from full health: even Volt Tackle does not (except with critical hits). BubbleBeam is a 4HKO, though, so the possibility of bad events happening is there. Lay a Toxic Spikes layer in preparation for Miltank; Tentacool cannot take it on, but the poisoning will nullify Miltank's Lum Berry and help Tentacool's teammates with inflicting status, if need be. * Rival (Burned Tower): Similar matchup to the Azalea fight, except Tentacool now has Surf, which is much better. Gastly is 2HKOed by it, and Zubat can be 2HKOed with either Surf or Ice Beam. Even Magnemite cannot measure up to Tentacool's Surf, achieving a 3HKO with ThunderShock at best; Tentacool makes short work of it. The starter guidelines remain the same for Quilava (easy) and Croconaw (avoid), whereas Bayleef can now be tackled as its Magical Leaf is significantly less powerful than Razor Leaf, and Ice Beam disposes of it in up to three hits. * Gym #4 - Morty (Ecruteak City, Ghost-type): Tentacool's Special Defense helps here somewhat; Gastly is OHKOed or 2HKOed by Surf, whereas both of the Haunter are 2HKOed. However, caution is needed against the level 21 Haunter as it has Dream Eater, so any Hypnosis-induced sleep must be healed right away; the level 23 one can mostly just Curse-trap, but Tentacool should not be shooting hits in low health as to avoid being offed by Sucker Punch. Gengar 2HKOs with Shadow Ball despite Tentacool's great Special Defense, so avoid that. * Eusine (Cianwood City): Drowzee and Tentacool both score a 3HKO with Confusion and Surf, respectively; Tentacool can theoretically win, though if Hypnosis hits it needs to be awakened right away, otherwise Dream Eater will deal terrible damage. Haunter is best avoided: the 2HKO is narrow and it can Curse-trap Tentacool with ease. Electrode has STAB Thunder, no comment. * Gym #5 - Chuck (Cianwood City, Fighting-type): Tentacruel can be a good ally in this fight, thanks to its Fighting and Water resistances and the availability of Surf. Primeape will be outsped and 2HKOed by Surf, though it also has Double Team; in the unlucky case that after just one usage Tentacruel starts missing several times in a row, Liquid Ooze specimens need to be wary of Defense drops induced by Leer, as one of them warrants a critical Focus Punch to be an OHKO. Clear Body ones have it easier, as Focus Punch will always 3HKO unless their Defense is very poor. Poliwrath will be much harder to defeat, and it has good bulk, while Tentacruel's Defense is not that great; if better options are available, do not fight it with Tentacruel: even though Focus Punch still fails to do better than a 3HKO, Tentacruel's moves are nothing short of pitiful against it and only Sludge Bomb manages to deal decent damage, provided that Tentacruel already has it. * Gym #6 - Jasmine (Olivine City, Steel-type): With the Choice Specs in hand, Surf OHKOs both of the Magnemite as well as Steelix with ease. Without the Choice Specs, the OHKO is still possible, but far less likely; while Steelix can still be fought, as its moves are not that strong against Tentacruel, both of the Magnemite are likely to 2HKO with Thunderbolt and must be avoided. * Petrel (Team Rocket HQ): Ice Beam, Surf, Surf. At this point, Tentacruel has several levels of advantage against the Rocket folk, so the held item will not matter. * Ariana (Team Rocket HQ, tag battle with Lance): Also not a difficult fight for Tentacruel. Due to Surf being a field-wide move, neither Arbok nor Drowzee will be OHKOed, but the damage they can deal is very low, due to their level; even Drowzee's Confusion just barely lands a scratch. Gloom is highly likely to be OHKOed by Ice Beam, and for Murkrow the OHKO is certain; just do not switch Tentacruel out if its health is low when Murkrow enters the battlefield: there is no point doing so, as Tentacruel outspeeds, and Murkrow's Pursuit can chip away a quarter of Tentacruel's health on the switch. * Gym #7 - Pryce (Mahogany Town, Ice-type): Seel and Dewgong can be 2-3HKOed with Sludge Bomb unless they start spamming Rest. Fortunately, a 3HKO is just enough for Tentacruel to get past them without giving them the needed breathing room to go back to sleep before they go down; their Ice moves do little damage to Tentacruel, as well. Piloswine is 2HKOed by Surf and can only 3HKO with Mud Bomb, so Tentacruel will only ever be in potential trouble in the event of nasty accuracy drops, and only if it has Liquid Ooze instead of Clear Body. * Petrel (Goldenrod Radio Tower): Tentacruel needs the Choice Specs to fight well, but it can easily OHKO all of the Koffing with them. Weezing is different: it will likely explode and, if it does, Tentacruel WILL be dead; Surf does not OHKO it, either. * Rival (Goldenrod Underground): Golbat is 2HKOed by Ice Beam and Tentacruel should only really fear recoil confusion damage, if it does use Confuse Ray. Magnemite is OHKOed or 2HKOed by Surf, and its Spark can at most chip away a third of Tentacruel's health; Thunder Wave is more annoying, but can be worked around with healing. Haunter and Sneasel are also 2HKOed by Surf, and neither of them can 2HKO Tentacruel; Sneasel may outspeed it, however, in which case Tentacruel needs to be wary of critical Faint Attacks if below half health. Quilava gets destroyed by Surf and Meganium falls to two Sludge Bombs or Poison Jabs. Feraligatr is only a 3HKO by Sludge Bomb, but Thrash cannot even 3HKO, so no problem. * Proton (Goldenrod Radio Tower): Very easy, Ice Beam for Golbat and Surf for Weezing. This specific Weezing has no bomb moves, so Tentacruel can fight it without worries. * Ariana (Goldenrod Radio Tower): Basically the same battle as the Rocket HQ in Mahogany Town. Arbok is 2HKOed by Surf, Vileplume is 2HKOed by Ice Beam, and Murkrow cannot take an Ice Beam at all. No problems for Tentacruel here. * Archer (Goldenrod Radio Tower): Choice Specs and Surf, Surf, Surf. GG. * Gym #8 - Clair (Blackthorn City, Dragon-type): Tentacruel can overcome Gyarados with some healing items and Sludge Bomb, as its moveset is almost entirely special; Bite from Gyarados can 4HKO at best, and Tentacruel has a 3HKO chance. Tentacruel can also set up Toxic Spikes against it, which may turn out very useful against her Kingdra: it can kill almost anything with a critical hit of ANY of its moves, thanks to Sniper. If Tentacruel is bulky enough to survive a critical hit from full health, it is also possible to simply spam healing items until the poison gets the best of Kingdra, which will take up to six turns with Toxic poisoning; proper calculations are necessary before heal-stalling, though, as at level 41 a neutral Special Defense nature may not warrant Tentacruel's survival to a critical Hyper Beam (though it comes close). In addition to that, Toxic Spikes are a good countermeasure for Kingdra's SmokeScreen hax: it will go down even if Tentacruel cannot manage to hit it. The two Dragonair are a non-issue, thanks to Ice Beam. * Kimono Girls (Ecruteak Dance Theater): Tentacruel is a bit of a mixed bag in this set of fights. It performs well against Umbreon, Flareon and Vaporeon, especially if given the Choice Specs: Umbreon is 3HKOed by Surf, Vaporeon is 3HKOed by Sludge Bomb, and against Flareon it has an OHKO chance with Surf. On the other hand, both Espeon and Jolteon are enemies it cannot fight well at all: they outspeed and hit harder, amounting to a 2HKO (thus OHKO with critical hits) with Psychic and Thunderbolt respectively. If Tentacruel has both a Dark-type and a Ground-type teammate to switch to when needed, however, it becomes a very good option for leading. * Ho-Oh (Bell Tower, HeartGold only): While Tentacruel can 3HKO with Surf normally, or 2HKO with the Choice Specs attached, if Ho-Oh uses Sunny Day the turns needed to defeat it will quickly increase. Extrasensory is also a 3HKO against Tentacruel, so preferably pack the Choice Specs as indicated, and fight with caution. * Lugia (Whirl Islands, SoulSilver only): Tentacruel really does not want to take a super effective STAB move from a legendary, epecially when said legendary has so much bulk that it can shrug off multiple Ice Beams. * Rival (Victory Road): Sneasel, Golbat and Haunter are still respectively 2HKOed by Surf (Sneasel and Haunter) and Ice Beam (Golbat). Tentacruel will be able to take on Magneton if its level is in the mid-40s or higher, as Surf will be a 2HKO and its best move, Spark, is only a 3HKO. Kadabra is a new addition, and can be 2HKOed by Surf as well, once again providing Tentacruel is already in the mid-40s. The policy for the starters has not changed; Feraligatr and Meganium can be disposed of by Sludge Bomb, and even though Typhlosion is now evolved, it can do very little to Tentacruel as it gets Surfed into oblivion. * Elite Four Will (Indigo Plateau, Psychic-type): Tentacruel makes the most out of this fight by holding the Choice Specs. The item permits it to OHKO both of the Xatu, as well as Exeggutor, with Ice Beam; it can also 2HKO Slowbro with Sludge Bomb, and Slowbro just barely fails to 2HKO Tentacruel with Psychic, resulting in a convenient 3HKO. Sludge Bomb can dispose of Jynx in two hits as well, but beware that a critical Psychic from it is very likely to off Tentacruel. * Elite Four Koga (Indigo Plateau, Poison-type): Surf 2HKOs Ariados and Venomoth, whilst Ice Beam 2HKOs Crobat. None of them are dangerous, as even Venomoth deals little damage with its Psychic, a mere 4HKO; accuracy boosters and/or PP restorers are advised, however, as Crobat is fast and can start pulling Double Team shenanigans on the squid. Forretress would be theoretically 2HKOed too, but Tentacruel should not fight it, as its Explosion is a guaranteed kill. Muk will require several hits, as it holds a Black Sludge and also has Minimize; its Gunk Shot, however, will only 4HKO Tentacruel, unless Screech comes into play. If that is the case, switching Tentacruel out after a single Defense drop is recommended; after two, it becomes absolutely necessary. * Elite Four Bruno (Indigo Plateau, Fighting-type): Not a bad matchup, thanks to Tentacruel's resistance, though there are still a few threats to be wary of: Hitmontop has Dig, which is thankfully predictable and Tentacruel can switch out of it easily if there is a Flying-type on the team; Surf will also usually net the 2HKO, and it can be guaranteed by letting Tentacruel hold the Choice Specs if it does not care about being unable to lay Toxic Spikes. Hitmonchan must not be fought without the Choice Specs, as it can 2HKO with ThunderPunch. Machamp is 2HKOed by Surf (with Choice Specs) and can at best 3HKO with Rock Slide, so Tentacruel can defeat it just fine. Hitmonlee is very approachable thanks to only having not very effective attacks, but watch out for Swagger-induced confusion, especially if Tentacruel went the Choice Specs route and has no Persim or Lum Berry at its disposal. * Elite Four Karen (Indigo Plateau, Dark-type): More than feasible, but the fights will be boring in most cases. Murkrow can be defeated right away, Vileplume will require two Ice Beams and no more, but Umbreon is annoying with Double Team shenanigans and may force X Accuracy or PP restorers usage. Houndoom is not OHKOed by Surf, though the OHKO can be secured by having Tentacruel hold the Choice Specs; it should be the preferred option either way, as Toxic Spikes poisoning does not help as much in this battle as it does in others. Tentacruel can also prove itself very useful against Gengar, but needs to be very wary of its Destiny Bond; Gengar must be paralysed or otherwise outsped for certain, in order for Tentacruel to not go down with it. Choice Scarf is an option, but it does also cripple Tentacruel in the other fights, in a way that the Choice Specs do not. * Champion Lance (Indigo Plateau, Flying-type): Do not fight Gyarados: Tentacruel can only damage it relatively slowly and the karpagon will Flail as soon as its HP go down below a certain threshold, inflicting massive damage. Spam Ice Beam against the Dragonite and use Surf for Charizard, though for the Dragonite, bear in mind that a single Ice Beam will not kill them unless Tentacruel has the Choice Specs attached; Tentacruel can take any one hit from them, including the ace's Outrage, but their Dragon STAB will kill if it crits, a risk not worth taking if it can be helped. Avoid Aerodactyl without a Choice Scarf instead: it "only" has Thunder Fang, but Tentacruel's low Defense still makes it a borderline 2HKO, which is problematic when the enemy is faster. Kanto From this point onwards, you can fight the gyms in any order, though you will need to retrieve the Machine Parts from the Cerulean City gym before you have access to the earlier portion of Kanto. Feel free to anticipate or postpone any battles as needed. * Gym #9 - Brock (Pewter City, Rock-type): Surf OHKOs Graveler, Rhyhorn and Onix in the blink of an eye, and with the Choice Specs it also scores a guaranteed 2HKO against Omastar and Kabutops. Kabutops is also incapable of one-shotting Tentacruel, even with a critical Rock Slide. Tentacruel should have no problems soloing this gym. * Rival (Mt. Moon, optional): Sneasel, Golbat, and all of the rival's possible starters are still more than doable for Tentacruel, by dispensing Surf, Ice Beam and Sludge Bomb accordingly. Gengar has evolved, but Tentacruel still maintains an advantage, outdamaging its Shadow Ball with Surf (a 3HKO); Gengar will only win if it can outspeed, which is unlikely due to its lower level. If it can, however, the prospect of it using Mean Look and Confuse Ray is even scarier than Shadow Ball, especially if paired with Curse. Magneton is still 2HKOed by Surf, but its Discharge is significantly more dangerous than Spark; a single critical hit from full health will defeat Magneton, so use a different Pokémon if possible. Tentacruel will never win against Alakazam: Psychic hits hard, and Alakazam is significantly faster. Do not fight it. * Gym #10 - Misty (Cerulean City, Water-type): Sludge Bomb is Tentacruel's best asset against Golduck and Lapras. Although Golduck has Psychic, it will 3HKO at best, and Tentacruel can 2HKO with the Choice Specs attached. Lapras will take three to four hits, but Tentacruel is not afraid of its moves. Starmie also completely lacks Psychic STAB, and gets 2HKOed by Sludge Bomb like its cohorts. Quagsire should never be fought: its Water Absorb nullifies Tentacruel's best move, it resists Poison moves, and it can dish out immense pain with Earthquake; even though Tentacruel can live a non-critical hit, it cannot take down Quagsire fast enough. * Gym #11 - Lt. Surge (Vermilion City, Electric-type): Shock Wave is actually the highest base power Electric move the Pokémon have here, which is alright for Tentacruel, as it can keep spamming Surf with the Choice Specs attached. However, the two Electrode should still be avoided, as they are faster and one of them has Selfdestruct, which kills Tentacruel when wounded (or not, if it scores a critical hit). Since Tentacruel 2HKOs everything Lt. Surge has, it obviously cannot fight all of his Pokémon, but it can fight any one or two Pokémon between Raichu, Magneton and Electabuzz without incurring in any serious risks. * Gym #12 - Erika (Celadon City, Grass-type): Ice Beam and Sludge Bomb respectively wipe the floor with Jumpluff and Tangela, regardless of Tentacruel's held item. Jumpluff may be faster, but none of its moves do more than scratching Tentacruel; Liquid Ooze specimens will laugh heartily at the HP-absorbing moves, too. Ice Beam also nets a 2HKO against Victreebel, whose best move Leaf Storm barely deals half to Tentacruel, whereas Bellossom is 2HKOed by Sludge Bomb. * Gym #13 - Janine (Fuchsia City, Poison-type): The usual Surf spam will work with most of her Pokémon, though naturally, Crobat can be defeated faster with Ice Beam. One of her Ariados and Venomoth have Psychic, though they can respectively only 4HKO and 3HKO with that move; against Venomoth, however, Surf is also a 3HKO, though there are reasonable 2HKO chances even just with the Mystic Water, which unlike the Choice Specs will not compromise Tentacruel's move flexibility. Weezing, however, can OHKO with Explosion and take up to two hits, so stay away from it. * Gym #14 - Sabrina (Saffron City, Psychic-type): Psychic STAB is all that Tentacruel needs to know to never set foot in this gym. If it was not enough, two thirds of Sabrina's Pokémon can outspeed Tentacruel. Thus, no dice: use something else here. * Gym #15 - Blaine (Seafoam Islands, Fire-type): Choice Specs and Surf, Surf, Surf. It will be the easiest gym ever if Rapidash does not outspeed Tentacruel. If it does, and it uses Sunny Day, then Surf will "only" be a 2HKO, but only a critical Flare Blitz under harsh sunlight and with a high damage roll can hope to represent a threat for Tentacruel. * Gym #16 - Blue (Viridian City): The lead Exeggutor can be OHKOed with the Choice Specs and Sludge Bomb. Rhydon is OHKOed by Surf regardless, and Ice Beam 2HKOs Pidgeot; the Choice Specs make a difference once again when Arcanine comes around, as it can be OHKOed by Surf only with the item attached. Gyarados is dangerous and has Dragon Dance, putting Tentacruel at a risk of being nothing more than setup fodder; do not fight it. Tentacruel can take an Earthquake from Machamp at full health, but only without critical hits; if lady luck is on its side, Surf backed by Choice Specs will 2HKO. * Rival (Indigo Plateau, optional): Not much of a change from the previous Kanto confrontation, if at all. Surf, Ice Beam and Sludge Bomb 2HKO most of the rival's team: Sneasel, the now-Crobat, and any of the starters; Meganium and Feraligatr require three hits, but their moves are not dangerous for Tentacruel. Gengar can be outmatched if Tentacruel manages to outspeed, which is likely, but not guaranteed. Just like before, do not fight Magneton or Alakazam - Magneton is hypothetically defeatable, but there is nothing to gain from exposing Tentacruel to killer critical hits. * Red (Mt. Silver): Stay very far away from Pikachu and its bloody Light Ball and Volt Tackle, it WILL kill Tentacruel. Snorlax also has high Attack as well as special bulk, and may thus only be fought by something bulkier; Tentacruel may, however, exploit any of Red's other Pokémon to set up Toxic Spikes and make the fight easier, though if Venusaur is not out yet, the Spikes will be removed when it enters the battlefield. Another option is to use Barrier instead of Toxic Spikes; if Tentacruel manages to max out its Defense before Snorlax is brought out to battle, it can whittle it down over time, though a critical Giga Impact will end Tentacruel's life no matter how healthy it is, or how many Barriers it has used. Lapras has Psychic and Tentacruel can even out the damage only with Choice Specs and Sludge Bomb; the fight is winnable, but critical hits may once again get in the way. Red's starters, instead, are the setup material Tentacruel was looking for: Venusaur cannot reach 2HKO range even with Frenzy Plant, while Charizard and Blastoise average at a 4-5HKO with their best moves. Tentacruel can 2-3HKO them in return, and if kept healed throughout, it can also easily Barrier its way to top Defense before the last of them faints. Moves At its lowest level, Tentacool starts with just Poison Sting and Supersonic, neither of which is great for grinding. Fortunately, with the Surf HM available, and Ice Beam obtainable in Goldenrod City (or Blizzard for players who do not do Voltorb Flip), the upgrade comes not too long after capture, even for early catchers. Many of the moves it learns later are not really interesting in comparison; Constrict at level 8 is no exception, though Acid at level 12, might be to provide an answer to fellow Water-types. Toxic Spikes, accessible at 15, is an interesting strategic move and may help in a few situations; while less reliable and easier to sweep away from the battlefield, it enables Tentacool to leave a parting shot to any incoming enemy after the one(s) it can fight on its own, and this may well turn out crucial in battles such as the one against Clair's Kingdra. Ignore BubbleBeam at 19 if Tentacool already has Surf, and also Wrap at 22 no matter its moveset, as neither will do Tentacruel any good; consider Barrier at 26 instead, as it powers up Tentacruel's not so good Defense. However, remember that it will not be considered for damage calculations in the event of a critical hit, which will still kill the squid. Similarly, Water Pulse at 29 is not bad, but Surf outclasses it. After evolution, Tentacruel can upgrade Acid with Poison Jab at 36, which has decent damage output for any Tentacruel but Modest ones; then there is the fairly useless Screech at 42, which should be ignored, and Hydro Pump at 49 may be taken as an upgrade to Surf, but its accuracy makes the latter usually preferable. Lastly, at level 55, Tentacruel learns Wring Out, which is the inverse of Brine but in Normal form - in other words, Tentacruel does not need it. Via TM, the first moves Tentacool gets access to are the obvious Surf and Ice Beam, both of which should definitely be taught. After clearing the Rocket HQ bit of plot, Sludge Bomb also becomes available, and is generally a good move to have to complement the coverage, despite the not so good offensive typing. As far as special coverage goes, that is it; Giga Drain is fairly good, but only available in the postgame. Physical coverage is not any better either, with just the aforementioned Poison Jab (also a TM move) and Waterfall being viable moves; on the upside, they will both hurt more than their special alternatives for Adamant specimens, and what's more is that Tentacruel can also run Swords Dance with physical sets. Naturally, the special equivalent is generally better, but the physical one is also an option. Recommended moveset: Toxic Spikes, Sludge Bomb, Surf, Ice Beam Recommended Teammates * Ground-types: Tentacruel's Electric weakness can be handled only by a Ground immunity. Some good Ground-types are fortunately easy to find, and due to their high Defense, they also help the team take the hits that Tentacruel cannot, due to its lack of physical bulk (before Barrier). ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Golem, Sandslash, Quagsire, Steelix, Gligar (Gliscor), Donphan, Rhydon (Rhyperior) * Dark-types: Psychic-types can only really be countered by Dark-types, as even Tentacruel's high Special Defense is not enough for their strong STAB moves. Dark-types are hard to come by, but if present, they can help Tentacruel get past one of its very few weaknesses. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Umbreon, Murkrow (Honchkrow), Houndoom, Sneasel (Weavile) * Physical tanks: Even though Tentacruel's Defense is not bad, and its typing grants it numerous resistances, it can be useful to have a proper physical tank on the team. Conveniently, good physical tanks also tend to have types that complement Tentacruel's own very well. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Sandslash, Quagsire, Steelix, Forretress, Tangrowth, Umbreon, Gligar (Gliscor), Donphan Other Tentacool's stats Tentacruel's stats * What Nature do I want? Anything that lowers Attack works, with Modest and Calm being the best natures, Bold and Timid being runner-ups. The other stats are all useful in their own way. Defense nerfs are acceptable too; lowering either special stat is just bad. * Which Ability do I want? Clear Body comes in handy a lot more often than Liquid Ooze, especially when accuracy-lowering moves factor into the equation. Liquid Ooze is not bad though, and can help further with getting rid of pesky HP restorers. * At what point in the game should I be evolved? Right before Chuck, at which point the evolution should come naturally. Tentacruel can be rather useful against Chuck, something not many Pokémon can brag about in this game. * How good is the Tentacool line in a Nuzlocke? It has a lot of good matchups and a slightly better movepool than a good number of other Water-types available in Johto, as well as being fast enough to carry the Choice Specs in those fights where its Special Attack is not enough to one-shot opponents. In addition to that, it does not get to face types it is weak to very often. This makes it a very reliable Pokémon overall. * Weaknesses: Ground, Electric, Psychic * Resistances: Fighting, Poison, Bug, Steel, Fire, Water, Ice * Immunities: None * Neutralities: Normal, Flying, Rock, Ghost, Grass, Dragon, Dark Category:HeartGold/SoulSilver Category:List of Evolutionary Lines with Completed Analyses